FACT SHEET

2007-2012 Proposed Final Program (PFP)

This PFP is the 7th program prepared since Congress passed the OCS Lands Act Amendments in 1978—it proposes 21 lease sales in 8 of the 26 OCS planning areas in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and Atlantic during the 5 year period of July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2012.

One sale in a small portion of the mid-Atlantic is proposed offshore Virginia with a 50-mile buffer -- (this sale will occur only if the President modifies the 1998 withdrawal and Congress discontinues the moratorium on leasing there).

The PFP differs from the proposed plan (PP) in that Sale 224 is added in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (EGOM) in 2008, and one of the two lease sales proposed in the North Aleutian Basin (NAB) was deleted, and the remaining NAB sale 214 scheduled for 2011.

On January 9, 2007, the President modified the 1998 presidential withdrawal in order to allow leasing in two areas -- the North Aleutian Basin planning area offshore Alaska, and the 181 South Area of the Gulf of Mexico. These actions were in response to the requests from Alaska state officials and local communities and enactment of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 respectively.

Two new areas in the Gulf of Mexico will be offered for leasing as a result of the Act. These areas could provide access to a potential 637 million barrels of oil and 2.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The first area consists of approximately 546,000 acres that lie within the Sale 181 area, in the reconfigured Eastern Gulf Planning Area. MMS has begun preparation of a supplemental EIS to a previous National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document prepared in 2001 for Sale 181.

The second area consists of approximately 5.8 million acres in the deep waters of the Central Gulf planning area, known as “181 South” and was included in the proposed program as an area for further consideration for leasing. In response to the Act and modification of the presidential withdrawal, MMS intends to prepare a supplemental EIS and include this area in the Central Gulf sale scheduled for March of 2009.

A portion of the North Aleutian Basin originally offered in Sale 92 in 1985 will be offered for leasing as requested by the Governor of Alaska and many local and tribal entities.

Release of the PFP is the fourth of five steps in the development of the 5-year leasing program for 2007-2012, which included three periods of public comment. The PFP follows and supplements the analysis conducted for the February 2006 draft proposed program (DPP) and August 2006 proposed program (PP). A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that analyzes potential effects of the proposed activities accompanies the PFP.

The MMS received comments from states, local governments, native groups, tribes, the oil and gas industry, federal agencies, environmental and other interest organizations, and all other interested parties, including the public, to assist in the preparation of a 5-Year OCS oil and gas leasing program for 2007-2012 and applicable EIS.

The analysis completed for the proposed 5-year plan indicated that its implementation would result in the production of an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil and 45 trillion cubic feet of gas, with $170 billion in net benefits for the Nation over a 40-year time span. (The Eastern Gulf of Mexico Sale (224) mandated by GOMESAct, would add an estimated .14 billion barrels of oil and .601 trillion cubic feet of gas.)

The OCS contains billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas that can be safely produced in an environmentally sound manner. It would be irresponsible to not consider how we might develop these abundant domestic resources.

In light of sharply higher energy prices and the need to increase domestic production, the administration is considering all potential energy resources that can be developed in an environmentally sound way.

Fact Sheet

Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)

The MMS has issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the 2007-2012 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program, in conjunction with the Proposed Final 2007-2012 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program (PFP). The FEIS was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and follows the August 2006 Draft EIS (DEIS).

The MMS received more than 9,000 comments via the internet and regular mail from states, local governments, native groups, tribes, the oil and gas industry, federal agencies, environmental and other interest organizations, and all other interested parties, including the public, to assist in the preparation of a 5-Year OCS oil and gas leasing program for 2007-2012 and applicable EIS.

The development of the FEIS included evaluation of possible environmental affects of a proposed leasing program that includes the entire area offshore the coasts of Virginia, the North Aleutian Basin, and the Chukchi Sea. Leasing restrictions in these areas that were part of the Proposed Program were analyzed in the DEIS as alternatives to the proposed program. For example, the MMS analyzed the affects of not allowing leasing within 25 miles of the coastline of Virginia and the Chukchi Sea as an alternative to the proposed action. This alternative was incorporated into the Proposed Plan.

In developing the FEIS, the MMS held 17 public hearings in 6 states, including Alaska, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia. Hearings were held in locations where there is a potential for an environmental effect from the proposed action. (Public Hearings in Goodnews Bay and Wainwright, Alaska were cancelled due to weather.)

The offshore energy industry has a remarkable safety record – two major hurricanes passed through the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 without causing a single significant spill from an OCS well.

Natural cracks in the seabed cause oil seeps 150 times larger in volume than oil spilled due to OCS oil and gas activities.